Customer Reviews

Mr. Cavendish, I Presume (Two Dukes of Wyndham, Book 2)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(38)
1 star:		(53)

 

 

This is the second book of the Two Dukes of Wyndham Series. However, this can not be described as a sequel as it takes place at the exact same time that the first book did, The Lost Duke of Wyndham (Two Dukes of Wyndham, Book 1).

At first I was a tad confused. It took me a good chapter or two before I realized this wasn't a brief recap, and suddenly Grace is single and Thomas is still a Duke. I have to admit I am not thrilled with the way she decided to write this series. A lot of what I read in this book I had already read in the previous book, albeit occasionally from a different perspective, it was still repetitive information. It also took away a lot of the enjoyment of reading as there were little to no surprises and I already knew how it was going to end. Having read the previous book I knew who the true Duke was, knew how it was discovered, etc.

While the previous book concentrated on the romance between Grace and Jack and his discovery of his family ties. This book concentrates on the same discoveries but from the romantic views of Thomas and Amelia. Two people who have been betrothed since the cradle.

I think it was an interesting idea to try to have two stories in one series, both taking place at the same time... Had the whole Duke thing not been the center of each story, it may have worked. But what was exciting and mysterious in the last story, just proved much too monotonous in this one. Entire scenes are reused from the first book leaving me in a consistent state of déjà vu while reading.

Thomas and Amelia are wonderful leads and their relationship was fresh and new, thank goodness, so this book wasn't a total loss as I enjoyed their romantic part of the tale, immensely. With all that said... I can't help but feel a little cheated as the author chose to only write a half story. Had I not read the first book I probably would have rated this one a lot higher. Instead of making two books out of one story she should have combined them making it one book/one story with two perspectives. Would have made a more compelling tale and would have saved a tree or two in the process. ;)

Cherise Everhard, October 2008

I'm upset and disappointed that I couldn't even finish the book. If you have read the Lost Duke of Wyndham, then you have already read HALF of Mr. Cavendish, I Presume. The Cavendish book parallels the Lost Duke book so closely, that you are literally re-reading scenes that you already know from the other book! Grant it, there is a different angle to some of it, because there is a different heroine in the new book, but I found myself skimming and skipping several pages just because I didn't see the need to re-read what I had already read.

A part of me wants to finish the book just to see how the story (and this two book series) end, plus the epilogue makes reference to the Bridgertons! But a part of me also wants to know what Quinn and Avon Books were thinking!

Now, I'm not telling anybody to walk away from this author! She is still definitely one of my favorites! But read her earlier works! I loved all her other books. "Everything and the Moon" and "How to Marry a Marquis" being my two personal favorites. Unfortunately, this two book series was definitely the worst of her fare and seemed like a joke compared to the caliber of her earlier works.

It'll come as no surprise to those who read my review of Quinn's last book that my expectations for THIS one were very low. And Quinn still didn't manage to meet them. That's how bad this book was.

In general, I think that this premise is a good premise. I mean, if I happened along a romance novel with this sort of plot, I think I'd be intrigued. I love the whole concept of arranged marriages and the wonderful ways in which romance novelists can bring freshness to the genre.

Quinn, however, fails to deliver anything remotely resembling freshness or even ROMANCE to this plot. It's a train wreck... one that I felt compelled wade through and finish, because I felt like I just couldn't look away.

~~ WARNING: SPOILERS IN REVIEW ~~


The plot is fairly simple: Thomas Cavendish has been either heir to the Duke-dom or a Duke for most of his life. This means that he's used to being lord of the manor, has a lot of responsibilities and is very much secure in his identity. Does he want to travel and does he feel like it's a huge anchor in his life? Sure... but a Duke's gotta do what a Duke's gotta do. And part of that is marrying a fiancé he's had since he was a little boy - and she was just a mere six months old. Amelia (the fiancé) has spent her whole life pretty much just WAITING for him to get around to marrying her. If his identity is "Duke" then her identity is "future Duchess". This being a romance novel (and a fairly predictable one at that) we know what happens: The second they decided they're in love, it turns out that they can't get married. In this case, the fact that Thomas' long lost cousin has shown up - and it turns out that he's more than the likely the Duke - is what causes them problems. Add in the fact that Jack (the real Duke) is in love with Grace (a friend of Amelia's sister and companion to Thomas's grandmother); Amelia is under the impression that Thomas is in love with Grace (as she rightly should be); and Amelia's father wants her to marry the Duke -no matter which man he turns out to be. Well, we know from the beginning that Jack is the Real Duke, so the plot is pretty much focused on Thomas having a breakdown and Amelia wondering what's going on, since no one will tell her anything. And, of course, the two have a few love scenes that are not very sexy or romantic. (I won't even go into the fact that Thomas has more chemistry with Grace and Grace has more chemistry with Thomas, than Jack.)

Basically, this book (and its companion book, "The Lost Duke of Wyndham") seems like an experiment. Like Quinn sat down one day and said, "I'm kind of bored and I'm going to try something new." Both books take place over the course of the same time period; have almost the exact same scenes (from different POVs); have the same characters; and the same conflicts. And they're both written terribly, with cardboard cut-outs for characters, and have pretty much no romance or fun in either of them.

I'm not even sure I'll explain this well, but here it goes: Quinn breaks the story down the middle and only gives you half the story in each book. To find out what Jack/Grace are thinking, you have to read Book 1. To find out what Thomas/Amelia are thinking, you have to read Book 2. The problem is - ALL four of them are boring and annoying, so by the end of it all, you could care less what ANYONE is thinking. Not to mention the fact that she spends so much re-treading scenes you've already read (depending on which one you choose to read first - it doesn't really matter, honestly) that you feel like you're re-reading the book, even though it's first time you've read it. She doesn't add in anything new into Book 2 that she didn't already cover in Book 1. And when she does, it's a bit of a letdown. For example, there is a key scene in which Amelia has to explain to Grace that she has to lie for Amelia. I was annoyed in the first book, because Grace was completely zoned out during Amelia's part of the convo and I wanted to know what Amelia was saying - she was by far more interesting than Grace, anyway. Well, in this book, I found out. And I didn't care. Yes, that's right - I just didn't care, because I pretty much detested Amelia by that point, anyway. She was just as bland and boring as Grace was in the OTHER one.

Which leads me to the characters: I'm not sure how Quinn managed to pull this off, but I was more interested in the OTHER couple in both books. So, as anyone who has read my last book can attest to, I hated Jack/Grace in Book 1. I really liked Thomas/Amelia. In this book, though? Suddenly, Jack/Grace were looking a lot more interesting because Thomas/Amelia were that boring!!!

I'm not sure what made Quinn want to try her hand at this - one of her biggest strengths is her ability to write supporting characters that are full of warmth, humor and personality. By choosing to write these two book as only "half" of one whole book, she actually took away her biggest strength. I've been a fan of Quinn's for years and - until recently - I've cut her slack. I was one of the minority who enjoyed "The Secret Diaries of Miranda..." because I felt that she wrote a good heroine and some excellent supporting characters. I also gave her a huge amount of leeway with "On the Way to the Wedding" because I figured the poor woman was probably all Bridgertoned out by the time she got to Book 7 and she only wrote it because of pressure from the fans. So, even though I thought it was her weakest book, I shrugged it off.

But this? This is just craziness... what was Quinn thinking and will she, PLEASE, stop thinking it? Go back to doing what you do best - write stories about fun heroines and likable heroes. Give us great supporting characters that make us love them so much that we're begging you for a book of their own. Don't just FORCE us to read about them in another book by withholding every ounce of information about them in the current book. If you sketch them properly enough, we'll love them for their own value... and, also, DON'T overlap time-lines. The biggest problem with these two books was that you wrote the same story TWICE. I'm not sure why you wanted to, but readers don't want to read it twice. Especially when it was painful the first time.

In short: I can't recommend either one of these books. Is Quinn still on my auto-buy list? Yes, amazingly enough, she is. Why? Because I'm chalking these two books up to Quinn being bored and wanting to experiment a little.... She failed in her experiment, but I'm not going to hold it against her forever. The sheer number of her good/excellent books outweigh these two TERRIBLE books. Meaning: I'm going to pretend that I never read them or that someone other than Quinn wrote them. However, if Quinn's NEXT book - a stand-alone, I believe - is also this terrible? Then there's no hope.

Julia Quinn is at her best when her heroines are pert and her heroes are confident. She excels at the breezy dialogue these type of characters inspire and - so long as the madcap hijinks aren't allowed to overtake the personalities too much as in "It's in His Kiss" - laugh out loud funny situations. She really shines when her characters are allowed their intelligence to show through witty repartee.

Unfortunately, as the heroine of "Mr. Cavendish, I Presume" laments, even her own mother says she is of "adequate" intelligence. She is of "adequate" everything else, if adequate is a synonym for bland. She is so lacking in personality that her life-long fiance, the Duke of Wyndham, notices her as much as the wallpaper. Yet despite his lack of attention Amelia quietly pines for him. When Wyndham stands in danger of losing his title she must make it clear that it is the man she wants not the title.

Amelia does not ever particularly shine as a heroine. There is no defining point for her during the book. She is a secondary character to the events that occur around her. Thomas, the duke-as-was, is only marginally better drawn although he is so stuffy and, at times, stiff-rumped to be truly sympathetic. The first book in this series, "The Lost Duke of Wyndham", shines with the vivacity and lightness of the irrepressible Grace and the puckish Jack. I was not as bothered by the close parallels to the books as other readers were, but I was bothered that Thomas and Amelia were too darn boring to hold my interest for very long.

Perhaps, as others suggested, it would have been better for this to have been a subplot within the first book rather than a stand-alone book. But having been disappointed by "The Secret Diaries of Miranda Cheevers" for another insipid heroine, I encourage Ms. Quinn to stay to her strengths - show us, don't tell us why we should invest our time in these characters.

Let me start by saying that I love Julia Quinn, it hurts me to have to give this book a one star review, but OMG this is NOT an ORIGINAL work.

I didn't believe the first reviews and decided to buy the book anyway, because come on, it's Julia Quinn, how bad can this book be? There's no way she can write something that I don't like. Man was I wrong! This is an exact copy of the first book except that it includes another 2 POV. I even found myself skipping or skimming through entire parragraphs which I HATE to do, hoping to find something that I hadn't read in the first book.

For this book Ms. Quinn only wrote a couple of original chapters everything else was word for word the same story that I'd already read. She should've made the first book with the 2 stories going on at the same time, even if the book was more expensive. Two love stories in one book are way better than two books with the same story. (Suzanne Brockmann is an expert with this, especially in her Troubleshooters series)

The love scene in this book (because there's only one) seemed rushed, it was like reading, he put his hand here, she put her hand there, etc...Very mechanical and not really romantic, like if Ms. Quinn was thinking I have to finish the book, because I'm running out of material to copy from the other book.

Hope her next book is more original, though next time I'm not going to rush out and buy it.

I have read the other reviews on this site and, while not shocked, am disappointed that some readers received this book so poorly. From the beginning, Ms. Quinn let it be known that the Two Dukes of Wyndham were companion books. This is not a structural tactic widely used in romance - a genre where connected books, even those as closely linked as these two, are written sequentially in time - so, I can only guess that it's this unfamiliarity that is making other readers so unhappy.

So, knowing this going in? You should ADORE this book.

Yes, there are some overlapping scenes, but I found that they were handled with great care. Mr. Cavendish is not, as some reviewers have said, the same book except for two or three chapters. In fact, much of the first half of the book is time spent when Thomas and Amelia were alone - during the mysterious disappearances during the first book. When the scenes do overlap, the reader is seeing it from such a different viewpoint that the whole passage reads completely fresh. And yes, much of the second half is spent in the same movements as the first book, but because Amelia and Thomas are such different characters from Grace and Jack - with their own conflicts, perceptions, and private moments - the story reads as a new and intriguing all the way through.

Mr Cavendish, I Presume is, at heart, a classic Quinn novel. Amelia and Thomas are a delightful couple - both going through their own major self-discoveries over the course of the novel, but always staying sympathetic and warm as people. I must say though, as much as I adored Amelia (and I really really did), Thomas was the most intriguing character as I've read in quite awhile - his situation is horribly difficult, as he's facing the possibility of having everything taken away from him (including Amelia), but the way he faces it with humor and unfailing integrity was astounding. Truly a hero for the ages.

Add to this JQ's always-witty natural style and a simple depth of emotion that sneaks up on you, leaving you unexpectedly drying your eyes for the last 30 pages, and Mr. Cavendish comes out as a true five star read. Honestly, I have two other highly anticipated romances sitting in my TBR pile, but I have absolutely no desire to open them yet. I'm still lost in the world of Amelia and Thomas and it would be a waste trying to read anything else - nothing can compare!

So, if you're a fan of Julia Quinn, or witty, emotionally powerful historical romances in general, you cannot afford to miss either Mr. Cavendish, I Presume or its companion book, The Lost Duke of Wyndham. Try them out and see for yourself!

Unlike others, I have no problem with reading a book that's basically the same story as another, but from the point of view of another character. In fact, when I read the 1st "Duke of Wyndham" book, I wondered what things would seem like from Thomas' point of view. The problem here, is that there is absolutely no chemistry between Thomas & Amelia, his fiancee of 20 years. There is also so little interaction, it's hard to understand how they are suddenly in love after a relationship of indifference on his part and irritation on hers. The development of their relationship, which should have been considerably more complex and interesting, is what the book should have been about. Instead, we just get a rehash of events we already know, and Thomas' thoughts (ad nauseum) on the obvious effect on his life of losing the dukedom. Julia Quinn has long been a favorite author of mine, but this seems to be a singularly lazy effort on her part.

No summary, just why I didn't like it.

I have read everything that has been published by Julia Quinn to date, many of which are on my shelf keepers list but this book is not even close to those in caliber. Perhaps if The Lost Duke of Wyndham (Two Dukes of Wyndham, Book 1) and Mr. Cavendish, I Presume (Two Dukes of Wyndham, Book 2) were written as one book, maybe as a 600page hardback, I would have enjoyed it. But this side by side story line style of having both books take place at the same time bored me to tears. Here's why-

You know whats going to happen. Even if you didn't read the first book its obvious by the title who the real duke is. Just too much repetition though most of the book focuses on the events that happened between Amelia and Thomas while they were off-stage during Two Dukes so to speak. But where is the mystery? How exciting is it to know the ending? Yes, its a romance so there will be a HEA but I prefer the rest of it to be a surprise -thats the joy of reading a romance, you never know how the couple will end up together. Too much of that was already covered in the first book.

Is the writing good? Well, its definitely witty and humorous but it does suffer from too much tell and not enough show (as in show me how they fall in love and not just tell me). Either you love Quinn's style or you don't. But I'm getting tired of the short sentences. Doesn't.Make.Sense.In.A.Historical.Romance. I think that type of writing would better suit a contemporary book. But I do have to give credit where credit is due. I loved the characters, Amelia is a great stand-by-your-man heroine and Thomas likewise is a loveable arrogant aristocrat.

So while I don't mind having the two books take place at the same time -they shouldn't exclusively. Perhaps if half of Cavendish was a rehash and other part moved forward it would have been better. So I can't recommend this one. Nothing exciting or new about it. Really its the editors fault for not urging Quinn to make this into one book. I think that would have raised my opinion of both stories substantially. Its a really good story if I hadn't read the gist of it before in Two Dukes. Certainly its a better romance if you compare the two individually.

Other *who's the duke* books that were more effective-
Desperately Seeking A Duke (Heiress Brides)
Duke Most Wanted (Heiress Brides)
The Duke Next Door (Heiress Brides)

I agree with most of the other reviewers about how this book was written. While, of course, I wanted to read Thomas and Amelia's story, I didn't think it would take place at the same time as Grace and Jack's and, like others said, we read the same things over and over in this book that we did in the first. I'm guessing JQ did this so that while Amelia would fall in love with him as a duke, would she love him as a mere mister when he was stripped of his title, but I found myself skimming over many of the pages because I already knew what would happen. I think this could have been a much better story if she'd begun after Grace and Jack had married.

Julia Quinn is one of my all-time favorite romance authors, but I believe she may have missed the mark on this one.

As I started Mr. Cavendish, it felt astonishingly familiar...as if I'd read it before. Déjà vu or just a rehashed plot line? I think it's most likely the latter.

Amelia Willoughby was first introduced to us in The Lost Duke of Wyndham as the younger sister and fiancée of the soon-to-be ex-duke, Thomas Cavendish. We don't learn much about her other than she's never been great friends with Grace Eversleigh. Rather, her sister Elizabeth is Grace's friend and confidante. Thomas is, of course, the ever-noble and honorable duke who must hand over his title--his very essence--to his long lost cousin, Jack Audley.

I can't pinpoint the exact believability factor with this particular Quinn novel other than to say it felt like I was rereading the first book...as if she'd merely written the scenes over again from another character's perspective. I also didn't like how it appeared that Amelia suddenly woke up one morning and decided she was in love with Thomas. She'd known him for years as his betrothed, but according to her, she hadn't really known him or his true personality beneath his polished veneer. And all of a sudden, she realizes she's in love with him in a few days' time? There's something a little too fanciful about that.

As for Thomas, I really appreciated his apparent struggle with his identity and readjusting himself to a different kind of lifestyle. He had to rediscover himself before he could commit himself wholly to Amelia by the end of the novel. I felt that it was a realistic twist and one that anyone might experience in his shoes.

Quinn's writing is always, always strong with clever dialogue. This work was no different, but it lacked the plot and depth that also characterizes Quinn's writing. Overall, a bit disappointing but still a worthy read for true Julia Quinn fans.